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2019-05-06: Social Media Postees

Trump Administration using the courts to kill healthcare for millions
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-06
NEW ORLEANS –The GOP couldn't kill the entire Affordable Care Act when they controlled Congress, though they tried at least 62 times. They can't completely kill it by dismantling it administratively piece by piece. So now the Trump administration wants the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, one of the most-conservative courts …peoplesworld.org/article/trump-administr…

Disgraced Trump Lawyer To Report To Prisontelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
Michael Cohen, the disgraced lawyer who once vowed to "take a bullet" for President Donald Trump but now calls him a "con man," on Monday will begin serving a three-year prison sentence for arranging hush payments to two women who said they had sexual encounters with the president and lying to the U.S. Congress. | RELATED: | Markets Take A Hit After Trump Threatens China On Twitter | Cohen, Trump's longtime former personal attorney, must report by 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) to the Federal C…telesurenglish.net/news/Disgraced-Trump-…

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince Makes a Comeback Under Trump Selling Mercenary Armies Around the World
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-06
The House Intelligence Committee has sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter. According to the Mueller report, the meeting was an attempt to establish a backchannel between the incoming Trump administration and Russia, and may have been arranged by the Trump team. The move is one of the latest actions placing…www.democracynow.org/2019/5/6/ex_blackwa…

Ex-Blackwater CEO Erik Prince makes a comeback under Trump selling mercenary armies around the world
Amy Goodman | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
House Democrats are accusing Prince of lying to Congress during his November 2017 testimony before the Committee, when he described a meeting in the Seychelles with a Russian banker before Donald Trump's inauguration as a chance encounter.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/ex-blackwa…

Ilhan Omar Speaks Out About Unbearable Conditions In Gazatelesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
U.S. congresswoman Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted Sunday about the latest episode of violence in Gaza that resulted in several people killed, including many children. | RELATED: | Ceasefire Reached Between Palestinians in Gaza and Israel |…telesurenglish.net/news/Ilhan-Omar-Speak…

Mueller report row: House Dem chair calls vote to hold AG Barr in contempt of Congressrt.com | 2019-05-06
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has scheduled a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, after Barr's Justice Department refused to hand over an unredacted copy of the Mueller report. | …rt.com/usa/458505-barr-contempt-vote-mue…

Critics Condemn 'Double Dehumanization' of Palestinians by Corporate Media as Headlines Focus on Israeli Casualties
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
Human rights advocates and progressives in Congress on Monday slammed the corporate media for perpetuating anti-Palestinian sentiments in their reporting on the violence in Gaza and Israel over the weekend—barely mentioning Palestinians who were killed by Israeli missiles and providing no context for how the violence began. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/critics…

Despite International Law, Pompeo Claims US Military Attack on Venezuela "Would Be Lawful"
Jon Queally | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-06
(CD) — After U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday morning that President Donald Trump has a "full range of options" when it comes to possible next moves against Venezuela, anti-war critics are wondering what the Democrats in Congress are prepared to do in order to curtail the administration's ongoing threat of using military force to …

Are Democrats Losing Their Enthusiasm? A New Poll Gives GOP the Edge
Ilana Novick | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
Republicans' interest bounces back after midterms, a sure sign the "blue wave" can't be counted on but must be earned in 2020.truthdig.com/articles/are-democrats-losi…

Let the war begin: Trump versus the House Democrats and — America and its people
Michael Payne | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
This war he initiated is against the House Democrats and is based on political issues. But its also against this nation's democracy and the people of America.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/let-the-wa…

Republican Red-Baiting Is Going to Backfire
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
"Socialism," snarled Donald Trump at a recent pep rally of far-right Republicans. The obedient crowd of Trumpistas snarled back in unison: So-sh'll-izz-ummm! | There you have the entire intellectual content of the GOP's 2020 re-election strategy under Generalissimo Trump: Slap Democrats with a scurrilous campaign branding them as Lenin-Trotsky-Stalin re-incarnate. | It's not just Trump hissing out the socialist label in a frantic McCarthyesque attempt to make it stick by mindless repetition, but also Republican lawmakers. Unfortunately for them, they're overplaying a weak hand and bumbling over their own ignoranc…truthdig.com/articles/republican-red-bai…

Sickout by teachers and school support staff in Nashville, Tennesseewsws.org | 2019-05-06
More than 1,400 teachers and support staff called in sick Friday after Democratic Mayor David Briley's budget provided no increase in real wages for school employees.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/06/nash…

Teachers at three Chicago charter schools strike as union blocks common fight with public school educatorswsws.org | 2019-05-06
The Chicago Teachers Union has worked closely with the Democratic Party to ensure that the two-tier education system is completely unaffected.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/06/chgo…

The Indivisible Unity Pledge and the Democratic Party progressives
Michael T. Hertz | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-06
Bernie has just taken the Indivisible Unity Pledge — meaning that he will back the Democratic nominee regardless of the DNC moves to eliminate progressives from the race.nationofchange.org/2019/05/06/the-indivi…

Laurentino Cortizo Is Panama's New Presidentplenglish.com | 2019-05-06
Panama City, May 6 (Prensa Latina) Laurentino Cortizo, of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), will be Panama"s new president until 2024 after winning the Sunday elections in a tight political race over right-wing politician Romulo Roux.www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id…

Treating Gun Violence 'As the Epidemic That It Is,' Cory Booker Wins Praise for Sweeping Gun Control Plan
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
National gun control groups and progressives offered praise on Monday for Sen. Cory Booker's proposal "to end the gun violence epidemic," with some advocates calling the plan the most ambitious of any gun control action plan offered by the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/treatin…

Obama's Agriculture Secretary, Now Working for the Dairy Industry, Urges 2020 Democrats to Be Nice to the Dairy Industry
David Dayen | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
Some dairy companies have begun to include a list of suicide prevention hotlines in the envelope with farmers' checks.theintercept.com/2019/05/06/tom-vilsack-…

Sanders Calls for Breaking Up Big Agriculture Monopolies
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-06
OSAGE, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Sunday proposed a sweeping agriculture and rural investment plan to break up big agriculture monopolies and shift farm subsidies toward small family farmers. | "I think a farmer that produces the food we eat may be almost as important as some crook on Wall Street who destroys the economy," Sanders said during a campaign event in Osage, a town of fewer than 4,000 people. "Those of us who come from rural America have nothing to be ashamed about, and the time is long overdue for us to stand up and fight for our way of life." | Sanders' plan expa…truthdig.com/articles/sanders-calls-for-…

Joe Biden's Presidential Campaign Pledged Not to Take Special-Interest Money — but Not His PAC
Lee Fang | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
In his bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden pledged to reject contributions from lobbyists and corporate PACs. But he has quietly taken in more than $30,000 in donations from corporate interests through a political action committee he created in 2017. | Biden founded American Possibilities in 2017 to support Democ…theintercept.com/2019/05/06/joe-biden-pa…

Fearful Democrats and the False Allure of Policy Centrism
Paul Waldman | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
Joe Biden is basing his candidacy on the proposition that he will be able to win over significant numbers of Republican voters, once they see that he's more moderate than other Democrats and realize what a repellent human being Donald Trump is. Here, Biden speaks during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……commondreams.org/views/2019/05/06/fearfu…

One hundred years since the May 4 movement in China–Part Twowsws.org | 2019-05-06
The Chinese Communist Party today distorts the significance of the events of May 4, 1919. It has long ago repudiated the democratic principles of the New Culture movement and the socialist internationalism upon which the party was founded.www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/06/may4…

Joe Biden Won't Blame the Republicans for Trump. That Should Disqualify Him
Mehdi Hasan | theintercept.com | 2019-05-06
Biden says Trump is the sole cause of America's political crisis — but in fact, the president is a symptom of the GOP's derangement.theintercept.com/2019/05/06/joe-biden-tr…

Note To the Environmental Community
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-06
In 2003, political strategist Frank Luntz wrote a confidential Republican Party memo on what he called "the environmental communications battle." In that memo, Luntz advised Republicans to change the words they used to meet their ends. "The scientific debate is closing but not yet closed," he wrote.counterpunch.org/2019/05/06/note-to-the-…

SPLC Action Fund: Florida Legislature passes unnecessary bill that would preserve vestige of shameful Jim Crow-era voting restrictions
Scott McCoy, Senior Policy Counsel for the SPLC Action Fund | splcenter.org | 2019-05-06
The Florida Legislature on Friday passed Senate Bill 7066, a piece of legislation that is not only unnecessary but that actually contradicts the will of voters who last year approved Amendment 4, a measure that restored voting rights to people with past felony convictions who have served their sentences.splcenter.org/news/2019/05/06/splc-actio…

NAACP Opposes Michael Park's Nomination to Second Circuit, Says Failure to Support Brown V. Board is Disqualifying
Austyn Ross | naacp.org | 2019-05-06
Today, the NAACP announced its opposition to the nomination of Michael Park to the U.S Circuit Court for the Second Circuit. The Senate will vote on Mr. Park's nomination later this week. Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, made the following statement: "Next week, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Court's seminal decision in …naacp.org/latest/naacp-opposes-michael-p…

US Troops in Syria for the "Long Haul" Atop "A Lot of Oil Resources": Pentagon Official
Zero Hedge | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-06
A high level Pentagon official has admitted that US forces will be in Syria for "the long haul" and coupled his statement by declaring the territory contains "a lot of the oil resources and arable land." | The unusually frank remarks …globalresearch.ca/us-troops-syria-long-h…

The DCCC's Anti-Progressive Policy Might Be Backfiring (2/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-06
In March, the DCCC announced its policy against progressive challengers of incumbent Dems. But the policy has been met with widespread scorn, and may be starting to backfire. Ryan Grim, Eugene Puryear, and Jacqueline Luqman discuss the situation…therealnews.com/stories/the-dcccs-anti-p…

UN honours fallen colleagues and friends who 'risk all to promote peace'
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-06
The lives of 115 colleagues who lost their lives between the beginning of last year and the end of March, serving the United Nations, were honoured on Monday at the annual Memorial Service for Fallen Staff, in New York.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

China Hopeful over Trade Pact with US, but Condemns Military Actionplenglish.com | 2019-05-06
Beijing, May 6 ( Prensa Latina ) China has assured on Monday it is still waiting for a trade agreement with the United States despite Donald Trump"s tariff threats, but warned it to stop military provocations in its waters because it will undermine regional peace and stability.www.plenglish.com/index.php?o=rn&id…

Failed Coup in Venezuela Intensifies Battle at Embassy in Washington
Black Alliance for Peace | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-06
Juan Guaido's coup attempt failed. | The United States is re-tooling. | Yet a battle rages at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, D.C., where activists living inside at the invitation of the Maduro government have been under siege. They have been …globalresearch.ca/failed-coup-venezuela-…

'Still too much': Clintons' speaking tour prices slashed, available for less than $14rt.com | 2019-05-05
Demand for tickets to Bill and Hillary Clinton's speaking tour has been so sluggish that organizers have had to slash prices to get bums on seats. It's almost as if they're a spent political force that no one wants to listen to. | …rt.com/usa/458419-clinton-speaking-tour-…

Pelosi fears Trump may borrow page from Democratic playbook by challenging 2020 election legitimacyrt.com | 2019-05-05
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned her fellow Democrats that Donald Trump may question the legitimacy of the 2020 election if he loses by a slim margin — a cowardly political tactic not seen since the Democrats lost in 2016. | …rt.com/usa/458415-nancy-pelosi-trump-dem…

The DCCC's Anti-Progressive Policy Might Be Backfiring (1/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-05
In March, the DCCC announced its policy against progressive challengers of incumbent Dems. But the policy has been met with widespread scorn, and may be starting to backfire. Ryan Grim, Eugene Puryear, and Jacqueline Luqman discuss the situation…therealnews.com/stories/the-dcccs-anti-p…

Facebook bans Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos for breaking its rules
Bryan Wall | thecanary.co | 2019-05-04
Facebook has banned a number of far-right activists and commentators from its platforms for breaking its rules. Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos were two of those whose accounts were banned by the company. Jones has previously claimed the US government faked the Sandy Hook school shooting and that Hillary C…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2019/05/04/facebook-bans-alex-jones-and-milo-yiannopoulos-for-breaking-its-rules/

House passes Climate Action Now bill in first major climate change legislation in a decade
Ashley Curtin | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-04
Three Republicans voted with House Democrats to approve the Climate Action Now bill — the first major climate change legislation in a decade.nationofchange.org/2019/05/04/house-pass…

Obama-tied operatives and Biden supporters launch $60 million 'dark money' group
Anna Massoglia and Kaitlin Washburn | nationofchange.org | 2019-05-04
A new "dark money" group is labeling itself the strategy center for Democrats in 2020. | The recently-launched Future Majority will spend up to $60 million to target voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio in the 2020 election, helping Democrats craft messaging that they are fighting for working people while countering conservative talking points, according to Politico. | The 501(c)(4) nonprofit, run by Democratic strategist Mark Riddle, is not required to disclose its donors. The g…nationofchange.org/2019/05/04/obama-tied…

A War Reporter Covers "The End of Ice" — and It Will Change the Way You Think About Climate Catastrophe
Elise Swain | theintercept.com | 2019-05-04
"It's possible to reach a place of acceptance and inner peace, while enduring the grief and suffering that are inevitable as the biosphere declines."theintercept.com/2019/05/04/climate-chan…

How to Dismantle the Absurd Profitability of Nuclear Weapons
Jon Schwarz | theintercept.com | 2019-05-04
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists currently has its Doomsday Clock set to two minutes to midnight — the closest we've been to self-obliteration in nuclear history. | But nuclear weapons are more than just a terrifying threat to every living thing on earth. For decades, they've been a terrific way to make money. | A new report from PAX, a Dutch peace organization, both illuminates how profitable it can be for multinational corp…theintercept.com/2019/05/04/nuclear-weap…

'Anything is possible': Trump talks North Korea peace after phone call with Putinrt.com | 2019-05-04
President Trump took to Twitter to declare his support for peace on the Korean Peninsula, after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin. North Korea, meanwhile, test-fired short-range missiles. | …rt.com/usa/458382-trump-north-korea-puti…

'Grave consequences' await if new deadly escalation of violence in Gaza continues – top UN official
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-04
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, is "deeply concerned by yet another dangerous escalation in Gaza and the tragic loss of life". According to news reports, approximately 200 rockets were fired on Saturday from the Occupied Palestinian Territory towards Israel, and various Israeli airstrikes were carried out in retaliation.news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1…

Nobody has to love Putin, but nuclear peace impossible without communication — Chris Hedgesrt.com | 2019-05-04
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked nuclear arms control in a phone call Friday. But what can be achieved when the US shreds treaties and Washington stays hostile to any communication with Russia? | …rt.com/usa/458393-america-russia-nuclear…

Whiteness Explainer for Dummies
Johnny E. Willliams | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-05-04
Examining whiteness is of utmost importance if Americans truly wish to live in a just and peaceful society. To realize this possibility, self-identified 'whites' — and their collaborators from among the racially oppressed — must reckon with their attachment to whiteness. Whiteness was the central concern of sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois in his …dissidentvoice.org/2019/05/whiteness-exp…

Trump vs. Congress and Our Constitution
Ralph Nader | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-03
Donald Trump is the most impeachable president in American history. Many Democrats, however, are running away from the word "impeachment" for tactical political reasons. Some Democrats say they have a sworn duty under the Constitution to present articles of impeachment for a vote in the House of Representatives, regardless of the refusal by the Republican…counterpunch.org/2019/05/03/trump-vs-con…

Climate Change legislation passes the US House
Adam Lee | naacp.org | 2019-05-03
H.R. 9, which was authored by Congresswoman Kathy Castor (FL), who is also the Chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, would prohibit the U.S. from withdrawing from the accord and also would require the administration to develop a plan for the U.S. to meet its voluntary commitments under the Paris Agreement. …naacp.org/latest/climate-change-legislat…